It would be purely vindictive, I suspect. A pricey form of vindictiveness, though --and I've always thought that vindictive is best dealt cheap. Adebayor hasn't really shone this season --Tevez has been looking a tad happier recently.

I beleive that Rooney wants out, but putting City and Real in the fram is just lazy journalists who automatically pull those names out of the hat whenever there's potentially big money involved. I think he'll go on the market with a considerably reduced price tag from the £25m Utd paid for him, and possibly to a club that actually could make proper use of him. If he was willing to move south - which he may well not be - I think he'd flourish again under Harry Redknapp at Spurs.

I see Mancini is distancing himself from the speculation, as, in a way that says "Yes, I'm really interested" is Mourinho. If Utd really do stick a £50m price tag on him, then there's only really City in the Premiership with deep enough pockets. But at the moment I don't think Rooney's worth that - he gives every impression of being past his best at 24. Given the right environment, I think he could come back - but I'm not sure Eastlands or the Benarbeu are the right environment. So I think he'll go cheaper (which is bad new for Everton and their hopes for a sell-on bonanza), which puts a good few more teams in the frame.

so, Rooney stays on the red side (though rumours abide of a £87meg offer from Sheikh M). And a serious kicking from a rampant Arsenal... (thought half the fun of being a City supporter is the Stoical resignation to shit happening at the crucial moments)